Improved press for bending ship s armor-plates



E. SAUER.

Press for Bending Ships Armor Plates.

Patented March 24, 1863'.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC EDWARD SAUEB, on NEW YoEK,-N. Y.

IMPROVED PRESS FOR BENDING SHIPS ARMOR-PLATES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,982, dated March 24, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD SAUER, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Press for Bendin g Ships Armor-Plates, and other Plates of Varying Curvature; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the press. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention consists principallyin a novel system of adjustable dies so combined with a bed and platen or follower as to provide for the bending of armor of other plates'of varyin g regular or irregular curvature.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the bed of the press, made of cast-iron and arranged in a horizontal position.

B is the platen or follower, arranged in a corresponding position above the bed, and fitted to move vertically on fixed upright guides to a, secured to or in the bed near each end thereof.

At the ends of the bed A there are rep resented screws 0 O for elevating the follower B but I prefer to use instead of these screws two hydraulic jacks, for the reason that they are much more convenient in several respects.

D D are bolts arranged in two rows near the sides of the bed and connected therewith by pin or hinge joints b b, which permit them to be brought up to the upwright position shown in Fig. 1, and in black outline in Fig. 3, or down to the position shown in red outline in Fig. 3. In the first mentioned of these positions the said bolts enter between pairs of lugs c 0, formed upon the side of the follower.

E E are nuts fitted to screw-threads 011 the bolts D D for the purpose of screwing down the follower.

F F and G G are two sets of narrow dies, one attached to the bed A and the other to the follower B. These may be of cast-iron, and should be of a length not less than the greatest width of the plates to be bent, and

are arranged transversely to the bed and follower, those of the upper set being arranged directly over those of the lower set to form pairs. The faces of these dies have longitudinal curvatures corresponding with the lateral curvatures to be given to the difi'erent parts of the plate which come between them, such curvature requiring'in many cases to be varied throughout the whole length of the plate. The lower dies F F are severally connected at one of their ends by pin-j oints d d to screws ce,

which enter holes inthe bed, and which are fitted with nuts f f, resting upon the bed; and the said dies are supported at their other ends by fork-headed screws 9 g, applied to the bed like the screws 0 c, with nuts h h resting thereon. The upper dies, G G, are severally attached at the middle of their length by pinjoints ii to screws j j, which pass through the follower, and which are secured thereto by nuts k it above it, and on opposite sides of the screw'jthere are applied to each of the said dies set-screws n n, the said screws passing through the follower and through nuts I, secured therein and pressing upon the dies. The said dies are prevented from moving horizontally by being fitted between guide-ribs m m on the under side of the follower.

The screws 6 e, g g, jj, and n n serve to adjust the several dies to suit the longitudinal curvature and the varying lateral curvature or wind of the plates, as the said screws provide for raising and lowering the whole of each die or either end of each one as may be required. The screws 6 e, g g, and j j are worked by turning their respective nuts. H are gages secured to the bed A, to set the edges of the plates.

To prepare the press for operation a wooden mold or templet of the size of the plate and the form intended for one face thereof is first made. This may be fitted directly to that portion of the ship or other structure to which the plate is to be applied, and a set of dies, F F, is then selected to fit the lateral curvature of the templet at distances apart corresponding with the distances at which the dies are arranged in the press. The bolts D D are drawn out from the lugs c c of the follower and turned down, as shown in red outline in Fig. 3, and the follower is thenraised to a suitable height by the jacks or other devices at its ends, and the set of dies F F and a set,

GG, having aprecisely' corresponding curvature, are inserted in the press. The templet is then placed between the dies, with one edge against the gages H, and one set of 'dies "is adjusted to fit it in those parts opposite to which it is situated, after which it is removed and the follower lowered and the other set of dies adjusted to fit the first set. The follower is then raised again, and the plate to be bent, having been heated, is placed on the v lower dies in the same position previously occupied by the templet, after which the follower is lowered to bring the upper dies down upon the plate, the bolts D D are turned up into the lugs c 0 of the follower, and the nuts E E are secured down as quickly as possible by a sufficient number of men till the whole length of every die touches the plate and the plate has consequently been brought to the requisite form. The nuts E E are then slightly slackened and the bolts D D turned down as shown in red outline in Fig. 3, after which the plate is taken out and the machine is ready for the reception of another to be bent to the sameform, or for a readjustment or change of the dies to bend a plate of differentform. v

f In the above operation the attachment of the bolts D D by pin or hinge joints,vto enable them to be swung aside, afi'ords great conven- 161106.

Key-bolts may be substituted for screws to effect the adjustment of the dies.

In some cases the use of a templet or mold may be dispensed with, and the dies. set by a rule.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with each other and with the bed A and platen or follower B, of the two sets of dies F F, constructed as described, and G G, and separately adjustable, both bodily and at either end, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

2. Combining the bed A and platen or folpurpose herein specified.

- EDW. SAUER.

Witnesses M. S. PARTRIDGE, DANIEL ROBERTSON. 

